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Monday, November 19

Thank you, Berta Ruck

In this week of American gratitude, the
Wranglers are choosing one person they’re grateful to in the business of
writing. Narrowing it down, D’Ann said, was going to be tough. It was for me.
Would it be for you? Give it some thought, check out our posts this week, and
let us know which ONE person you’re grateful to. And, while you’re at it, have
a great Thanksgiving!

My aunt had more books than you
could shake a stick at. She bought them from a book club back in the…well, way
back, and they resided with paper covers intact on a tall shelf in the corner
of the living room. I read A Tree Grows
in Brooklyn, Joy In the Morning, The Hoosier Schoolmaster, Elsie Dinsmore, and
Rose In Bloom, to name a few. I sat
cross-legged with my back against the wall and lost myself in the South, in New
York City, in backwoods Indiana.

And then I read His Official Fiancée by Berta Ruck.

Oh, my God.

The book was
written in 1914, one of 80 novels published by Ms. Ruck. There were two movies
made of the story, the first one silent. It was hilarious. It was loving. It
was…oh, Lord, it was so romantic. It was written in the flowery, Britishy
language of old movies and it was…did I say it was romantic?

I don’t
remember if it was the first romance I ever read, but it’s the first one that
made me go “ahhh.” I already knew I’d be a writer—Louisa May Alcott taught me
that—but Berta Ruck is the reason I write in the language of Happily Ever
After. She died in 1978 at the age of 100 years and nine days. She published
books from 1905 – 1972.

My girls knew when we went to the mall, that if they were good, we'd stop at the bookstore, B.Daltons. And it was their reward. LOL. They also knew that if they asked for a book, there was a 99.9 percent chance they'd get it :)

I give picture books as new baby gifts now. When I had Jordan, someone gave me When You Give A Mouse A Cookie and it's the only gift I remember specifically getting at that shower :) But, it's never too early to encourage reading habits.

I've *never* heard of Berta Ruck, Liz..but I've seen that movie, too. And I loved it.

Books are the one thing we never hem and haw over when bebe says, 'I *neeed* this.'. Even though DH isn't a reader, he gets why her imagination should be engaged...And we're headed to the grocery store this afternoon. I wonder which book will capture her imagination in the book aisle today?

I am most grateful to Kimberley Young, the young editor at Mills & Boon who first bought me. She read my submissions and liked my voice, and was willing to work with me. Book #1 didn't make the cut. Book #2 needed some revisions, but I did them and I got the call. I'll remember that day the rest of my life. I am grateful to Kim for opening up a whole new for me. (14 meds later, 2 Special Editions, and 3 books with The Wild Rose Press) I have much to be grateful for.

I have to thank three people. First my own mother who was a reader. Even though she wouldn't let me read some of the books I wanted to read at a particular age, she thought nothing of spending hours with us at the library. Next my DH, who acted as my agent and sold my first three books to a print publisher in a three book contract which started this whole business. And finally to another author, Terry daly Ramin who, when I couldn't sell a thing, took the time to read something I wrote and explained so I could finally understand 'point of view'. The rest is history with book number 20 coming in May.

I owe a lot of thanks to JR Tolkien who entranced me with his world building as a child. Also CS Lewis's worlds largely influenced how I view fantasy. I'm sad that my kids would rather watch the movies instead of tackle the somewhat old-fashioned writing.

Hi Liz,I've never heard of Berta Ruck. I'll have to see if my library has any copies of her work. My mother was a huge influence on my reading life. We had a very limited income - She was a widow raising 5 children at a time when single parent families were a rarity - and every Monday we would walk 20 minutes to our local library and get out books to read. She was beyond patient waiting as each of us kids chose the books we wanted to borrow. I still go to the library with my mom though it's usually once a month now.

Growing up I loved to read Harlequin Romances - all of them, any of them. Then I discovered Janette Oke. Her inspirational novels, such as Love Comes Softly, were perhaps my favorite reads. I would definitely say thanks to her.